My husband and I traveled over Labor Day to visit family and a dear friend. We also planned to look at some properties to see if they struck our fancy. Lo and behold, we wound up finding the perfect house in the perfect community on Day One! We’ve been scrambling ever since to prepare for the big move. Here are some of the bigger ticket items on the to-do list:
Making provisions for health care: When crossing state lines, our Medicare supplement no longer provides coverage. We got a referral to an outstanding health insurance broker who explained our options, walked us through the application process, and provided follow through with the providers. Our dear friend provided a referral to an excellent Primary Care Physician, and we’ve set up our new patient appointments in November. Meanwhile, we’ve made the rounds with our existing doctors and dentist to make sure there’s nothing that requires attention. We also arranged for prescription refills should it take a while to get established. (I’ve got our dog covered as well!)
Making arrangements for the physical move: Given accessibility issues in our neighborhood, we knew that a giant moving van was simply not going to work. We thought about renting a truck, hiring strong backs for loading/unloading, and driving with the able assistance of my older brother. But it’s a really long haul, and driving a loaded truck is not much fun. So, we opted for U-Haul boxes with loading and unloading service. While parted from our belongings, we’ll visit family and relax while making our way to the final destination. It’ll be just rewards after all the work it’s taking to pack all our stuff.
Downsizing: I’ve been on this soap box for years and navigated a major effort when we sold our home a year-plus ago. We still managed to identify quite a bit of stuff that either won’t fit in our new home and/or presented a nontrivial risk of breakage along the way. We donate some large items to charity, gave away quite a bit more through the local Buy Nothing Facebook Group, and made two Goodwill runs. There’s still stuff that should go, but I’ll wait for the unpacking phase to deal with them. WE need to press on!
Working through purchasing our home: Much has happened with technology since we went through our last housing transaction. This one will complete without a visit to the title office. We’ve signed a gaggle of documents electronically and had our first experience using a Virtual Notary Public! I’ve also been busy with the financing side of things as enthusiasm along won’t get it done! Our agent will provide streaming video so we can walk through the house virtually the day before closing and ensure all action items have been addressed. It’s a little strange but wonderfully convenient.
Saying good-bye: We have so many wonderful friends here! We’ve been doing our best to see folks before we leave town. It’s the hardest part of the big move. Some will be part of regular gatherings on Zoom so that we can stay in close touch. Others will simply find a cozy place in our memory. They’ve all made the years we’ve spent here really special.